Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organisation:
The Planning function plays a critical role for the success of our Retail stores. Its overarching objective is to provide a fact-based frame for the Merchandising process from a pre-season as well as in-season perspective. By providing clear call-to-actions based on sell-out insights we can ensure the right products are planned at the right time, at the right place and at the right volume to maximize the commercial success (sales & productivity) of our concept store channel while maintaining a premium environment to drive our brand priorities forward.
Key Responsibilities:
• Support the implementation of the European Merchandising Strategy in all activities conducted by the department• Lead financial planning process IBP and connect with all stakeholders to come up with holistic seasonal targets (translating into buying budget)• Generate sharp consumer & marketplace insights• Create a reporting landscape to generate sell-out insights in a user-friendly way on a weekly & monthly & seasonal level• Translate complex datasets into digestible take-aways & tangible call-to-actions and build executive summaries for SLT level • Scan performance of other channels on a regular basis to understand new business potential for our Concept Stores• Identify & exploit commercial opportunities based on marketplace and consumer insights and highlight risks if products are under- or overbought • Closely collaborate with Merchandising and Trading teams to work towards our financial targets and establish an efficient communication channel to do so • Store visits as needed and advised by the business (expected ratio of office/travel is 90%/10%)
Key Relationships:
• Concept Store Trading• Concept Store Merchandising• Franchise Planning• eCommerce Planning• Europe Finance
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
• Technical skills in pre-season planning and buying for a multichannel direct-to-consumer (own retail, franchise or e-com) global brand• Deep knowledge of merchandising and retail supply and operations topics and broad knowledge of other functional areas involved in the planning & buying process• Product knowledge and understanding of inventory principles• Rough understanding of the consumers’ psychology, the European marketplace composition, our product assortment as well as operational retail KPIs• Interpersonal and project management skills• Excellent troubleshooting and problem-solving skills• Excellent analytical skills including broad experience with excel and Power BI• Excellent business acumen • Fluent in English
Requisite Education and Experience/ Minimum Qualification:
• University degree in business, ideally with marketing and sales focus or equivalent professional experience• Retail knowledge, potentially also gained through working in stores• 5 years of typical relevant work experience